Note:
This page is almost verbatim from a very early version of the website - circa 1996.
Honda NSR-125
I learned to ride with CSM in Wimbledon in 1993. I did the weekly course, which involved spending a week hurtling around Surrey on these little 125s. The machine shown here is the own I had for the week. Small and nimble, not very powerful, but a good little learning bike.
We had a choice of this style or a more upright trailbike style. I never felt comfortable with the taller bike, so I picked this one.
Honda VF400FD
Said James, "in my opinion, There ain't nothing in this world, beats a '52 Vincent and a red-headed girl" -- Richard Thompson
My first bike was a Honda VF400FD. Although complex, the VF400 was a sweet little machine. Very easy to ride and enough power for a novice. It was a very easy machine to learn to really ride on. Flat out, the little beastie would do 115mph when it was in good form. As for handling, you could throw it onto its footpegs if a corner proved to be a little sharper than expected. It was quite capable with a passenger as well, though not for long distances.
This is my VF in the snow when I lived near Brooklands in Surrey. The Car is my VW Golf GL.
The VF400 has a glaring weakness which is the sheer complexity of the engine. Four cams, sixteen valves and all for just 55hp.
Too complex to do much on yourself, it was very expensive to get fixed in a garage. I just ran it into the ground until I had a chance to trade it in on Bike #2.
Kawasaki ZZR-1100
My last bike was a Kawasaki ZZR-1100. This was a lovely
bike to ride. Smooth, creamy power, and lots of it. Easy, if heavy, handling and
a little soft on the suspension, but well behaved most of the time.
It was very
sensitive to strong crosswinds and moved around a bit but generally kept its
head. Drawbacks include the existence of other traffic and the special paranoia
associated with what used to be the fastest production motorcycle in the world.
Here is my Big Z parked up at the car park of my flat in Hook, Hampshire. Again, that's my Golf GL in the background on some shots.
I used to get about 50 miles per gallon out of the big beast when commuting on it. (Not always very slowly either!)
I never really opened it up fully. The fastest I went was about 140mph (225kph).
